Live Review: Trueblood and Prestyn Smith at The Observatory North Park, San Diego, CAToday's rising artists Trueblood and Prestyn Smith closed out their tour with two shows at The Observatory North Park San Diego, CA (3/20) and the Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA (3/22). This short run of six dates began at Brighton Music Hall in Boston, MA last month and followed with the Bowery Ballroom in N.Y.C., The Foundry in Philadelphia, PA, and the Songbyrd Music House in Washington D.C. All shows instantly sold out. These artists are a perfect pairing and had played shows together last year including a sold-out Ventura Music Hall show. Observatory North Park was the biggest show for both artists' careers with the exception of Trueblood playing Wango Tango last year. This sure was a historic night. The fans are very dedicated, with many having traveled from other states and parts of the world. The crowd, delighted as they were, threw homemade bracelets and other items onstage during the show. There was also a Meet and Greet following the Observatory show that lasted over an hour. This Sunday, Trueblood’s “Make It Out,” and Prestyn’s “Yellow Lights” are part of KROQ’s Locals Only playlist.

Seal Beach native Prestyn Smith, one of the greatest voices of this generation and the next big pop star, has been rising across TikTok and Instagram, hitting over 1,000,000 TikTok followers, over 620,000 Instagram followers (almost 700 posts), 547,000 Facebook followers, and 51,000 YouTube subscribers with her acoustic covers and videos playing guitar while riding a skateboard. Over the last few months, her Instagram followers have gone up by around 100,000. Top 10 Spotify plays adding to nearly 850,000. There has also been airplay on legendary L.A. radio stations Alt 98.7 and KROQ 106.7 and the band includes Hermosa and O.C. locals Cash Lane (bass), Ashwin Desai (guitar), and Jackson Daw (drums). Like Red Hot Chili Peppers, the band kicked off with a jam which led into Prestyn running onstage to a bunch of screaming fans. It was an incredible experience to witness. This nine-song set included all originals with the exception of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Because I Like A Boy." The opening song was  “Fell In Love,” which has a Jack Johnson vibe to it, with Prestyn plays acoustic guitar on it. It was the perfect song to open with and it was followed by her second biggest song “Can’t Lie” (105,710 plays). Next was one of her earlier singles (2024) “Angel On My Shoulder,” then “Because I Like A Boy," “I Meant It” (Released January 2025), and second to last was her biggest hit “Can’t Lie,” released this past November and has already accrued 223,074 plays and includes audience interaction clapping during the chorus. The closing song was her latest single “Yellow Light’s” (87,798 plays) which No Doubt’s Adrian Young recorded the drums on. This is an artist truly bound for greatness.

One of the quickest rising bands, San Diego Natives Trueblood consists of teenage brothers Mason (lead vocals/guitar), Dylan (lead guitar), Ethan (bass), and Cameron (drums). Their ages range from as young as 13 to 18 and they have been playing instruments for half their lives. Since November 2024, they've already accomplished hitting 3,000,000+ Instagram followers, 540,000+ YouTube subscribers, and over 15,000,000 top 10 combined Spotify plays. They have amassed a very dedicated fan base and have been bringing songs from artists before their time to the next generation which can be seen when the house music plays before their set—with much of the audience singing along with those songs. During the East Coast run, fans were lined up early in the afternoon in under 40 degree weather—the line stretched nearly a mile long line by the time doors opened. Their setlist kicked off with “Never Let You Down,” and included originals “Flood My Brain,” “Enemy” (performed acoustic), “21 Cents,” “Stuck,” “Paint A Picture,” and “Morning Shade.” For covers they performed Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Can’t Stop,” an acoustic version of Laufey’s “From the Start,” The Weeknd’s “Sweater Weather” (also acoustic), Franz  Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out,” and George Michael’s “Careless Whisper”—which was the final song.

Before the tour, Trueblood performed intimate local shows in Oceanside, San Diego, as well as Anaheim and Los Angeles (plus larger performances at Wango Tango and Soma Sidestage). The next generation of great rock bands is here.

Photos by Alex KluftThe post Live Review: Trueblood and Prestyn Smith at The Observatory North Park, San Diego, CA first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.